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The Value in Embracing Your Weaknesses

February 02 , 2018

If you’ve ever been in an interview setting, you may have been asked to describe one (or more) of your weaknesses. That’s a scary question for a lot of people, either because they don’t know what their weaknesses are or because they don’t want to admit the weakenesses to themselves (or to other people). And that’s understandable, since we naturally want to present the best version of ourselves. However, acknowledging and embracing our weaknesses is incredibly beneficial in several ways.

The most obvious one, of course, is that recognizing the areas where we’re struggling can help us figure out where we need to put in more effort. Working hard to improve in these areas is important, but you can’t do that if you don’t know what they are! Taking a little time to really think about your weaknesses and what’s holding you back can help you in the long run. For example, if you know that procrastination is a problem for you and this is something that is negatively affecting your life, it will be much easier to avoid it and try to break that habit.

Even if you don’t think you can fully overcome your weaknesses, knowing what they are can also help you find ways to work around them. While it’s important to acknowledge and understand your weaknesses, it’s also important to focus just as much on your strengths. While none of us are perfect, we all have areas where we excel and traits and habits that help us succeed. Being fully aware of all your strengths and weaknesses can help you find ways to use your strengths to help you work around your weaknesses.

Finally, acknowledging and understanding your weaknesses is helpful because it allows you to ask for help when you need it. If you know you’re not great at editing your own papers, you can seek out resources that will help you improve or find someone who is good at it to assist you. Asking for help is just as hard as acknowledging the things we struggle with, but it’s so, so important.

It’s never fun to reflect on our weaknesses – often we’re all too ready to lay the blame on something (or sometimes somebody) else when we mess up or don’t succeed. But our weaknesses are part of who we are just as much as our strengths are and failing to recognize them means we never learn from them. Embracing our weaknesses is never an easy thing to do, but the benefits make it absolutely worth it!